My Name is Kerry…..

And I am a West Highland White Terrier.  My pedigree is perfect and I am pretty perfect too.  I have a very responsible job and that includes looking after my sister (who is a liability in her own right), our brother and also our mum (Mary) because she spends a lot of time on her own as our daddy is away a lot of the time. Well, obviously she is not entirely on her own now as she has us.

I may be small, but don't mess with me!

This is our second home, that is me and my sister Candy.  We had a lovely mummy and daddy before, Lynne and James.  I loved them to bits, especially my James-daddy, I am a real daddy's girl that's for sure.  In fact I was named after his first Westie which makes me very proud.  Apparently his family always kept Westies.  Unfortunately he was away a lot of the time too, but unlike Mary, Lynne usually went with him, so we used to go and stay with another family.  They were very nice and good to us too, in fact they used to let us sleep on the bed sometimes, which we weren’t allowed to do at home, but it just wasn't the same.

One day last spring, when the weather was starting to get nice again after the winter, our Lynne and James came home from a trip.  We were both delighted to see them again and rushed up to welcome them.  Of course I had to tell them about all the naughty things that Candy had been doing while they were away.  She can be a real handful that girl, but I love her because of course she is my sister.  So I was busy listing out all my gripes while we both gave them lots of cuddles and kisses too.  Then they told us that we were going for a long drive the next day so we were to get to bed early and be rested for an exciting new adventure.  We both love going in the car, it usually means a lovely walk on the beach or in the countryside.  So the next morning we got up and had some breakfast.  I was too excited to eat, so Candy finished mine off.  Then we all bundled into the back of the car.  Lynne and James also put in all our cushions and towels and blankets and feeding bowls which was not unusual as we used to take a lot of kit with us whenever we stayed with the other family, so we just assumed we were off for a short holiday again.

Candy is a liability

We drove and drove for what seemed like days and finally we arrived at a new place we had never been before.  As we circled slowly around what looked like a park we noticed a couple of happy-looking people waving us.  At their feet was another West Highland Terrier.  He looked very handsome.  We drove up to where they were and stopped and we were let out.  Well do you know that naughty boy-Westie took a quick sniff and then tried to get the leg over.  First me and then Candy!  I can tell you I very quickly told him where to get off and so did Candy.  She can look after herself that way alright.  He had another go a little bit later on, but soon got the message that neither of us was interested.  We have been neutered after all!  Apart from that introductory episode he seemed to be ok.

Then Lynne and our new dad, Victor, me and Candy and our new brother, Looki, all walked up a steep hill together until we came to the front door of the house that we now call home.  I am not proud of this, but I had to have a poo on some stone steps on the way and we left it behind as nobody had a poo-bag with them! 

The new house was strange to us, long and thin with horrible open steps, which we did not trust for quite sometime, though now Candy and myself run up and down them with not a care in the world.  Lynne and James did not stay very long.  James drove the car up under Mary's direction, offloaded all our clobber, did a quick inspection of the house, to make sure it was suitable and then they were off.  We expected them to come for us after a week or two, but they never did.  I really missed them for a long, long time.  Whenever I saw a car like ours I would perk up, or sometimes I would see a person walking on the other side of the road and for a moment I would mistake them for Lynne or James and go rushing over.  But it was never them.

For the first couple of weeks we stayed downstairs, on account of those terrible steps, and outside in our new garden, which is quite exciting.  Often there are cats to chase and we do like a good cat hunt.  There are lots of places for cats to hide and we go down every morning to do an inspection.  We have flushed out quite a few invaders.  They don't hang about and go over the walls in any direction.  We like to keep our territory clear. 

During the summer months there was lots of banging and dust as another terrifying set of stairs was erected up to the roof.  We couldn't quite see the point of it all as it made it very difficult to get around the house for a while, but slowly it all eased off and the nice builders went away again.  I missed them as I am a real socialite, but it was nice to have a peaceful house again.  And bit by bit, first Looki, who is not frightened of anything, and then Candy and finally me, went up the stairs to the roof.  Well!  What a vista!  Up there you can see cats for miles and miles!  It is one of my favourite places now.

When we first arrived and I had put Looki in his place I assumed that he was a total pushover.  How wrong was I!  For a couple of weeks he gave in to my nips and growls and I figured I was on to a winner.  Not only was I the boss of Candy, who can be soooooo irritating by the way, but also now in charge of a big boy like Looki.  However, after his initial bowing to my will, suddenly one day he decided he had had enough and what do you know!  He turned on me, bared his teeth and growled right back at me.  I was shocked!  I had him down for such a wuss, but he wasn't.  I have since discovered that he is just a very placid kind of a guy.  He had a really rough life before coming to live here so though he is not in-your-face aggressive he can, on the other hand, stand up for himself and is no pushover.  So now I just have to keep Candy in line.  She is a total flake and everybody thinks she is so cute with her little limp paw trick.  However, she is irritatingly much slimmer and more athletic than I am, so when there is a cat in the offing she can always get there quicker than me.  This really gets up my nose so I snip at her before she can get off out of the starting blocks to give me a chance to get there first, but I never will unless I can lose this spare tyre that I have.  It's really not fair.  Candy can eat all she wants and never puts on an ounce but I just have to look at a slice of bacon and it immediately hits me in the middle! 

As you can see I have my work cut out with the two clowns on the left.  Why can't they just behave like proper terriers?

Last week we all went to the vet for our vaccinations and a check up.  I heard the dreaded words:  "Too fat" and "Diet" and knew I was in for a bumpy ride for the next few weeks and now I am simply starving all the time.  I will admit that I am taking it out on that slim little madam too.  She doesn't deserve to be so slim when she can eat like a horse.  On the other hand she will also spend half the afternoon chasing her tail around like a nutcase!  Doesn't she realize it's attached to her own body and a) she'll never catch it and b) if she does it will really hurt!  I am much more sedate and ladylike and don't really like to break a sweat.  I told you, I have a pedigree as long as your arm.  It still irks me that Candy and I both have the same biological father, but I believe her mother was a bit common.  I heard stories about her in the kennels.   I could tell you a thing or two over a couple of rawhide chews.  Looki is the surprise really, a bit of a rough diamond.  I laugh sometimes when he kisses our Mary on the chin and she says "Ouch! stop biting me Looki!"  But on the other hand, he would not knowingly harm a fly.

So why am I writing this blog post today?  Well Mary is terribly busy at the moment.  She teaches here in the village from Monday to Thursday, but it does not stop there as she is also an artist and coin designer.  Some nights she stays up until way past midnight working on some design or other and right now she has another design on the boil.  There is another thing….now I feel a bit disloyal saying this….but she also has a rather nasty IKEA habit.  Whenever she can get there she is off like a whippet and comes back with all these large brown boxes.  She starts unwrapping them and then she goes to get her screwdrivers and hammer.  I can't understand it.  She seems happy enough for the most part but every so often when something does not go quite right she says words that would make a sailor shudder in his bellbottoms.

Mine is a responsible job.  Pictured here guarding my favourite people's smalls.

So at this very moment, while I am writing this, Looki and Candy are panned out on Vic's Axe-cushion in the office and Mary is in the spare bedroom hammering and swearing.  Vic is due home this week thank goodness, I miss him and I need another adult to help me keep control of everything, but for now I'm gnawing on a slim-line dog biscuit and my nails and hoping that I will hit the deadline!